NAO

The huge success of 2018’s Saturn, her cosmic, coming-of-age second album, had propelled the singer-songwriter into a new stratosphere.

Suddenly, a late 2018 to 2019 global tour whipped her from Tokyo and San Francisco to Brussels and Bristol. Then came a 2019 Mercury prize nomination, a 2020 Grammy nomination: each high cascaded after the next. Laughing about it years later, she hardly had a moment to breathe. Yet after a series of life-changing events in the months to follow, she would find herself replenished. She was reborn by the rich, genre-defying music that now makes up And Then Life Was Beautiful.

This third album sets out a clarified sense of purpose. Where Saturn untangled the knots of late twenties soul-searching, And Then Life Was Beautiful goes a step further. Nao is now the mother of a young daughter, sounding more confident in herself – and her voice – than ever.

The album celebrates life’s ups and downs, reaching out a hand to guide listeners through what hurdles may confront them next. Fans who know and love Nao for her stunning voice, rippling like satin, will hear it over some of her most streamlined instrumentation to date.

All 13 tracks now speak to the perspective she has gained through facing life’s challenges. She muses that the album title itself “is the truth, isn’t it? Life isn’t perfect; we still go through ups and downs, but it can be beautiful as a whole.” From adversity came a greater appreciation for joy. And she reflects on And Then Life Was Beautiful from a place of self-belief, head held high. “I do think it’s a hopeful album, in an honest way – it’s not shiny or all ‘isn’t this great!’ and ‘party party party.’ But it’s hopeful in that through every rough patch, every dark patch or struggle we always come out again. That’s what life is. You keep going. But most of all you try and step into a place of gratitude so that you can see life in all of its beauty.”